Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen's population grew in the decade leading up to the most recent census. At the same time there were changes in religion, ethnicity and housing tenure.

The population reached nearly 150,000

In the 10 years leading up to the latest census, the population of Blackburn with Darwen increased by 7.3%, from about 137,000 to 147,000.

The addition of about 10,000 people means this area's population increased at a similar rate to the overall population of England (up 7.9% since the 2001 census).

In 2011, Blackburn with Darwen was home to, on average, 7.7 people per football pitch-sized piece of land.

Population density was higher than the average across the North West

Population density (usual residents per football pitch-sized piece of land) across the North West, March 2011 (larger dots represent greater increase since 2001)

An older Blackburn with Darwen

Census 2011 data also show a change in the local population's average age.

Between the last two censuses, the median age of Blackburn with Darwen increased by one year, from 34 to 35 years.

This multi-cultural area had a lower average age than the North West and remained somewhat younger than the average local authority area across England (39 years of age).

The fall in age was because of an increase of just over 3,300 people between the ages of 40 and 49 years, while the population between 30 and 39 years decreased by just under 700.

About 14% of people in Blackburn with Darwen are aged between 40 and 49 years

Percentage of usual residents in England, North West and Blackburn with Darwen by 10 year age band, March 2001 and March 2011

Disability in Blackburn with Darwen

The percentage of Blackburn with Darwen residents whose day-to-day activities are limited a lot by a long-term health problem or disability increased from 3.7% to 4.7% in the 10 years leading up to the latest census.

The proportion who reported being limited a little in their day-to-day activities remained close to 6.5%, while the percentage of Blackburn with Darwen residents whose day-to-day activities are not limited by a long-term health problem or disability decreased from 90% to 89%.

The proportion of people who are considerably limited by a long-term health problem or disability increased at a similar rate to the figure for the whole of the North West (from 3.7% in 2001 to 4.4% in 2011). Across England, the proportion increased from 3.1% to 3.8%.

The proportion of people who are limited a lot by a long-term health problem or disability in Blackburn with Darwen increased by 1 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in Blackburn with Darwen, the North West and England that reported being considerably limited in their day-to-day activities, March 2001 and March 2011

Religion in Blackburn with Darwen

The number of people in Blackburn with Darwen that described themselves as Muslim increased from just under 27,000 in 2001 to just under 40,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 19% to 27% of the local population.

The percentage increased by more than the average across the North West (from 3.0% to 5.1%) and the average across England (from 3.2% to 5.2%).

The number of people in Blackburn with Darwen that described themselves as Christian decreased from about 87,000 in 2001 to just under 78,000 in 2011 (from 63% to 53%). The number of people who described themselves as having no religion increased from just under 11,000 to just over 20,000 (from 8.0% to 14%).

Just over 8,300 people (8.6%) did not state their religion, down from just under 12,000 in 2001 (5.6%).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the religious profile of an area, such as migration and varying fertility rates between religious groups. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals choose to self-identify between censuses.

The population who identified as Muslim in Blackburn with Darwen increased by 7.6 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in England, North West and Blackburn with Darwen by religion, March 2001 and March 2011

Ethnicity in Blackburn with Darwen

The number of people in Blackburn with Darwen from the Asian or Asian British ethnic groups increased from just under 29,000 in 2001 to about 41,000 in 2011. This represents a change from 21% to 28% of the local population.

The percentage increased by more than the average across the North West (from 3.8% to 6.2%) and the average across England (from 5.2% to 8.0%).

The number of people in Blackburn with Darwen from the White ethnic groups decreased from about 110,000 in 2001 to just over 100,000 in 2011 (from 78% to 69%). The number of residents from Mixed/multiple ethnic groups (White and Asian, White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean or Other Mixed) increased from about 1,300 to about 1,800 (from 0.9% to 1.2%).

Just over 1,200 people (0.1%) said they were from the Other ethnic groups (Arab or any other ethnic group), up from about 180 in 2001 (0.8%).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the ethnic profile of an area, such as migration and varying fertility rates between ethnic groups. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals choose to self-identify between censuses.

The population from the Asian or Asian British ethnic groups in Blackburn with Darwen increased by 7.3 percentage points

Percentage of usual residents in England, North West and Blackburn with Darwen by ethnicity, March 2001 and March 2011

Change in unpaid care

The percentage of Blackburn with Darwen residents that provided between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care increased from 1.3% to 1.8% between the last two censuses.

In 2011, just under 1 in 30 (2.9%) reported providing at least 50 hours of unpaid care each week, compared with 2.4% in 2001.

The proportion of people providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care increased faster here than in any other local authority district across the North West. The improvement brought health in Blackburn with Darwen close to the national average 1.4% in England described their health as good in 2011).

The proportion of people providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care in Blackburn with Darwen remained close to 1.8%

Percentage of usual residents in England, North West and Blackburn with Darwen by care, March 2001 and March 2011

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